Emergency doctor explains: If you have these symptoms, you should call us immediately

Should I, may I or must I? Many people are unsure when they can request help from an emergency service by calling 112 – with negative consequences: On the one hand, emergency doctors are increasingly being called to patients who could have been helped by their family doctor. However, ignorance also means that patients at risk may wait too long before contacting the emergency services. This is critical, every minute counts in an emergency.

In principle, an emergency doctor should be called if the patient’s life is in danger, explains Professor Peter Sefrin, federal physician at the German Red Cross (). This is always the case when the patient’s “vital functions” are disturbed or have failed – “i.e. consciousness, breathing or circulation”.

However, it is often difficult for the layperson to judge when a human life is in acute danger and the emergency doctor needs to be called. Our overview provides initial guidance:

consciousness

“A disorder of consciousness occurs when the patient responds to speech or painful stimuli no longer responds and the Body slackens is,” explains Peter Sefrin. “If the patient no longer moves, that is a sign of unconsciousness. This condition is particularly dangerous. When the person lies on their back, the tongue falls back and obstructs the airways. Foreign bodies such as stomach contents or blood can also get into the lungs. It threatens Apneawhich can lead to the death of the patient.”

breathing

“In emergency medicine we differentiate between two different critical conditions: the Breathing disorder and the Apnea. A breathing disorder occurs when the patient breathing too slowly and not getting enough oxygen. Also one breathing too quickly is problematic: it leads to one in the body Carbon dioxide waste comes. Breathing can also take place foreign body to be disabled. The patient breathes in and this creates a wheezing breathing noiseit is very likely that a foreign body has gotten into the lungs or there is one Swelling in the respiratory tract. A whistling sound when you exhale usually indicates an asthma attack. These symptoms are easy to recognize even for a layperson.”

Circulation

“One Circulatory disorder occurs when blood pressure is too high or too low. A very low blood pressure indicates one shock Hint: The patient is extremely pale, beads of sweat form on the face, and the color may turn bluish. A extremely high blood pressure manifests itself through a crimson complexion and can lead to… stroke lead. Many illnesses can lead to one sudden cardiac arrest lead. The The pulse is then no longer palpable.”

paralysis

“Sudden paralysis almost always indicate a stroke. The paralysis can affect a foot, a hand or an entire half of the body. The disorder can also affect the face: it looks crooked Corner of mouth hangsthe Eyelid is closed on one side. The language is slurred and it can Vision problems appear.”

Severe pain

“Not every pain is automatically a case for an emergency doctor. 112 should only be called if there is pain occur suddenly and are severe. The layman would say: an unbearable pain. It doesn’t matter where the pain occurs. Violent, acute headaches can indicate bleeding in the brain. A acute pain in the chest area to a heart attack, Hardly tolerable pain in the abdominal area on a thrombosis in the area of ​​the intestinal loops. However, if the pain increases gradually and increases over the course of a few days, it is usually not an acute emergency. However, the symptoms should still be clarified promptly by your family doctor or with the help of the statutory medical on-call service (number 116 117).”

Heavy bleeding

“A case for the emergency doctor is bleeding whenever the patient loses a lot of blood and develops circulatory problems. Young patients are a special case: They are able to compensate for major blood losses over a longer period of time without experiencing circulatory problems. Then attention must be paid to the amount of blood lost: From an amount of more than 500 milliliters it becomes critical. In principle, if there is severe blood loss, it is important to call the emergency number once too often rather than once too rarely. The same applies to Coughing up bloodwhen large amounts of blood are lost.”

Sick people who are not in acute danger of death can also contact the medical on-call service. He can be reached on 116 117 (nationwide, without area code) and looks after patients who need help outside of medical consultation hours.